Correlation analysis for adoption studies of rice growers in district Baramulla of Kashmir Division, India

This study about the correlation analysis for adoption and knowledge of rice growers was carried in 12 randomly selected villages of 3 tehsils prominently growing rice of district Baramulla of J&K state. After multi-stage random 10 rice growers from each village were selected randomly and systematic sampling technique a sample of 120 rice farmers was drawn.  It was found that Knowledge were found positively correlated with Education (0.449) Occupation (0.356), Social participation (0.205), annual income (0.229), Mass media exposure (0.375), Extension contacts (0.219) and Scientific orientation (0.341) and Adoption were  also found positively correlated with Education (0.447) Occupation (0.348), Social participation (0.301), Annual income (0.243), Mass media exposure (0.309), Extension contacts (0.243) and Scientific orientation (0.338) whereas Age, Family size, Land holding and Farming experience have no significance with knowledge and adoption level of famers. The significance at 0.01 level of variables like Education, Occupation, Social Participation, Annual income, Mass Media Exposure, Extension contacts and Scientific Orientation with dependent variable Knowledge and adoption level of rice growers. The results of the study indicated that these selected variables might play a very important role in increasing the Knowledge and adoption level of the package of practices by rice growers of Kashmir Division

Disease and pest management in apple: Farmers' perception and adoption in J&K state

Diseases and pests are one of the limiting factors for low productivity of the fruit crops in Kashmir valley, India. A study on management of resources with respect to disease and pest management of apple and extent of adoption of recommended plant protection technology was undertaken for increasing apple production in Kashmir valley of J and K State. District Baramulla was selected purposively on the basis of maximum area and production under apple crop. A sample size of 200 apple growers 50 each from 4 villages were selected randomly. The study revealed that the perception index regarding attributes of technology recommended in two diseases viz. San Jose Scale and Apple Scab was 68.88% and 80.76% in respect of profitability (83.97%), simplicity-complexity each 63.57% and 54.27 % for practicability attributes of technology. The data further showed that the farmers adoption level under Chemical control was high at silver tip to green tip stage (80%) and fruit let pea size stage (78%) and medium adoption was observed at pink bloom (bud) stage (74%), petal fall stage (74%) walnut size apple stage (70%) on Apple Scab similarly, the extent of adoption was low (45%) for mechanical and no chemical control measures under clean cultivation. In case of San Jose Scale the farmers adoption level regarding name of chemical, its dose, quantity of water required per acre for preparing spray solution and time of spray at late dormant spray, (feb, March) was high (80%). The findings will help to improve the level of farmers’ knowledge to increase apple production in Kashmir valley

Evaluation of some potential silkworm Bombyx mori L. genotypes during different seasons under temperate conditions

In the present study twelve potential bivoltine silkworm Bombyx mori L. genotypes were evaluated for their performance at 25±1 0C temperature and 75±5 % relative humidity for twelve different traits during spring and summer seasons of 2012 and 2013, respectively. The data generated in respect of different traits was pooled separately, analyzed statistically and subjected to multiple trait evaluation indexes. The genotypes were ranked as per the cumulative score and the value of a particular trait in a particular genotype was compared with the ranking. Out of twelve genotypes, six genotypes viz., SKAU-R-1, SKAU-R-6, SKUAST-31, NB4D2, SH6 and SKUAST-28 were shortlisted for spring season and eight genotypes viz., SKAU-R-1, SKAU-R-6, NB4D2, SH6, SKUAST-31, CSR18, DUN6 and DUN22 for summer season. These genotypes scored higher E I values (>50) and were identified as promising genotypes hence recommended for rearing under temperate climatic conditions to push up silk productivity in the valley. Furthermore, the genotypes viz., SKAU-R-1, SKAU-R-6, SKUAST-31, NB4D2, SH6, and DUN6 performed significantly better irrespective of the seasons and scored higher E I. values (>50). Hence, these genotypes can be recommended for both seasons to boost bivoltine silk production in temperate region

Genetic characterization of Barbari goats using microsatellite markers

Genetic variation in Barbari goats, a highly prolific breed distributed widely in the northern part of India, known for better milk and meat quality, was studied as a part of genetic characterization and conservation. The genomic DNA from 50 unrelated Barbari goats were amplified via PCR with a panel of 21 microsatellite markers, and resolved through 6 per cent denaturing polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis followed by silver staining. The number of alleles ranged from 4 to 11, with allele sizes ranging from 88 to 220 bp. The distribution of allele frequencies was between 0.0104 and 0.5208. Polymorphism information content varied from 0.5563 to 0.8348. The population was not in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium for all except two microsatellite loci (ILSTS044 and ILSTS060). The observed heterozygosity ranged from 0.8478 to 1.0000 while the expected heterozygosity ranged from 0.6208 to 0.8509. Based on the results of the present study, there is a good scope for exploiting the genetic variability in the Barbari goats for further improvement of performance

Oligo- and Polymetastatic Progression in Lung Metastasis(es) Patients Is Associated with Specific MicroRNAs

Rationale: Strategies to stage and treat cancer rely on a presumption of either localized or widespread metastatic disease. An intermediate state of metastasis termed oligometastasis(es) characterized by limited progression has been proposed. Oligometastases are amenable to treatment by surgical resection or radiotherapy.Methods: We analyzed microRNA expression patterns from lung metastasis samples of patients with ≤5 initial metastases resected with curative intent.Results: Patients were stratified into subgroups based on their rate of metastatic progression. We prioritized microRNAs between patients with the highest and lowest rates of recurrence. We designated these as high rate of progression (HRP) and low rate of progression (LRP); the latter group included patients with no recurrences. The prioritized microRNAs distinguished HRP from LRP and were associated with rate of metastatic progression and survival in an independent validation dataset.Conclusion: Oligo- and poly- metastasis are distinct entities at the clinical and molecular level.</p

Physics Potential of the ICAL detector at the India-based Neutrino Observatory (INO)

The upcoming 50 kt magnetized iron calorimeter (ICAL) detector at the India-based Neutrino Observatory (INO) is designed to study the atmospheric neutrinos and antineutrinos separately over a wide range of energies and path lengths. The primary focus of this experiment is to explore the Earth matter effects by observing the energy and zenith angle dependence of the atmospheric neutrinos in the multi-GeV range. This study will be crucial to address some of the outstanding issues in neutrino oscillation physics, including the fundamental issue of neutrino mass hierarchy. In this document, we present the physics potential of the detector as obtained from realistic detector simulations. We describe the simulation framework, the neutrino interactions in the detector, and the expected response of the detector to particles traversing it. The ICAL detector can determine the energy and direction of the muons to a high precision, and in addition, its sensitivity to multi-GeV hadrons increases its physics reach substantially. Its charge identification capability, and hence its ability to distinguish neutrinos from antineutrinos, makes it an efficient detector for determining the neutrino mass hierarchy. In this report, we outline the analyses carried out for the determination of neutrino mass hierarchy and precision measurements of atmospheric neutrino mixing parameters at ICAL, and give the expected physics reach of the detector with 10 years of runtime. We also explore the potential of ICAL for probing new physics scenarios like CPT violation and the presence of magnetic monopoles.Comment: 139 pages, Physics White Paper of the ICAL (INO) Collaboration, Contents identical with the version published in Pramana - J. Physic

Consumption of a soy drink has no effect on cognitive function but may alleviate vasomotor symptoms in post-menopausal women; a randomised trial

Purpose: Cognitive decline is commonly reported during the menopausal transition, with memory and attention being particularly affected. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of a commercially available soy drink on cognitive function and menopausal symptoms in post-menopausal women. Methods: 101 post-menopausal women, aged 44–63 years, were randomly assigned to consume a volume of soy drink providing a low (10 mg/day; control group), medium (35 mg/day), or high (60 mg/day) dose of isoflavones for 12 weeks. Cognitive function (spatial working memory, spatial span, pattern recognition memory, 5-choice reaction time, and match to sample visual search) was assessed using CANTAB pre- and post-the 12 week intervention. Menopausal symptoms were assessed using Greene’s Climacteric Scale. Results: No significant differences were observed between the groups for any of the cognitive function outcomes measured. Soy drink consumption had no effect on menopausal symptoms overall; however, when women were stratified according to the severity of vasomotor symptoms (VMS) at baseline, women with more severe symptoms at baseline in the medium group had a significant reduction (P = 0.001) in VMS post-intervention (mean change from baseline score: − 2.15 ± 1.73) in comparison to those with less severe VMS (mean change from baseline score: 0.06 ± 1.21). Conclusions: Soy drink consumption had no effect on cognitive function in post-menopausal women. Consumption of ~ 350 ml/day (35 mg IFs) for 12 weeks significantly reduced VMS in those with more severe symptoms at baseline. This finding is clinically relevant as soy drinks may provide an alternative, natural, treatment for alleviating VMS, highly prevalent among western women